Elijah Clarke

Elijah Clarke was born in North Carolina in 1742. He was an active participant in the American Revolution, being wounded several times and taking part in numerous skirmishes, the most notable being when he led American militia to a victory over the British at the Battle of Kettle Creek in Georgia. When the British occupied Georgia, Clarke helped lead a guerilla warfare effort on the Georgia and South Carolina frontier. After the Revolution, he served in the Georgia state assembly, and continued fighting Indians on the frontier; he even illegally tried to set up an independent nation, called the Trans-Oconee Republic, on Creek lands. Though he died almost bankrupt in 1799, Georgia did honor him for his war time service by naming Clarke County for him in 1801.

Biography from the New Georgia Encyclopedia

Biography from Wilkes County Genealogy Site

Elijah Clarke Portrait

© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia

Go to Famous Georgians page